Air, water vapour and
condensation
Proportioning the Compressed Air Dryer
Trying to figure out which air dryer capacity is best for you? Here are some factors to consider. Read More…
What is compressed air humidity?
Air, water vapour and
condensation
Air usually has a certain level of humidity, meaning it contains a certain amount of moisture, water vapour or condensate. The amount of vapour air is able to absorb depends on the temperature of the air. The higher the temperature of the air, the more water vapour it absorbs or holds.
The maximum amount at any given temperature is called the relative humidity. When relative humidity reaches 100%, the air is no longer able to absorb any more water vapour. This is known as a saturation point or a dew point. Itโs the point at which condensation begins to form.
Compressed air and condensation
The higher the temperature of air going into an air compressor, the more water vapour in the air and, as such, the more condensation that will be produced. If the ambient air temperature is 20ยฐC, there will be about 17.30 g/m3 of moisture in the air. At 35ยฐC, this more than doubles to 39.63 g/m3.
When the air is compressed the temperature initially rises, even as the volume of air โ what we just saw as m3 โ reduces.
The air will also eventually cool. And as it cools, the amount of moisture in the air wonโt change. Instead, because the compressed air has less volume, it will be unable to hold as much water vapour or condensate, resulting in condensation.
How much condensation depends on the temperature and pressure of the compressed air. At a pressure of 800 kPa, the compressed air has only 1/8 the volume it previously had. This means it will only be able to hold 1/8 of the condensate. The rest turns into condensation as soon as temperatures begin to drop.
This means condensation needs to be removed from compressed air before the temperature drops, which usually happens when the air is discharged from the air compressor. For this reason, a condensation or adsorption dryer is used to eliminate condensation.
Avoiding condensation in compressed air
What else will help to reduce condensation? Keep the temperature of your intake air as low as possible. This is particularly important in
the summer months, or if youโre working in a particularly warm or humid environment.
Refrigerated Air Dryers
Ash Air has a range of quality cycling and non-cycling Pneumatech refrigerated dryers for your air compressors.Our non-cycling Pneumatech refrigerated dryers offer a reliable and economic solution for removing moisture from your compressed air system. These refrigerated dryers for air compressors are easy to install, offer energy savings, prevent pressure losses, are equipped with rotary compressors and R410A refrigerant, and have improved connectivity features.
The Ash Air collection of very dependable cycling Pneumatech refrigerated dryers offer easy-to-use controllers, are easy to install with low maintenance needs, and are energy efficient with zero-loss drains.
We also supply a range of superior performance refrigerated dryers for air compressors with variable speed technology that matches energy consumption to the actual compressed air demand, have stable pressure dew points, and are available with both air-cooled and water-cooled condensers.
Desiccant Air Dryers
Our innovative desiccant dryers give customers efficient protection against the presence of any humidity in the air, which often is the source of pipe corrosion and decreased efficiency of equipment and tools.
The Ash Air range of advanced technology 360-1080 m3/hr and 1188-10800 m3/hr adsorption air dryers are for customers who have a focus on energy efficiency and low operating costs, while maintaining the highest standards in air purity. Our Pneumatech blower purge air dryers use heated blower purge air to remove moisture from the desiccant material, which means no purge loss during regeneration.
Breathing Air Dryers
Here at Ash Air, we offer BA 15-310 HE Breathing Air Purifiers. The Pneumatech solution for Industrial Breathing Air applications, build to exceed standards. The Breathing Air Dryer range assures safe working environment in a wide range of applications. Built to exceed standards, Breathing Air Dryers provide certified breathing air, even in situations with polluted intake air to ensure personnel safety at all times.
The Pneumatech solution for Industrial Breathing Air applications, build to exceed standards. The Breathing Air Dryer range assures safe working environment in a wide range of applications. Built to exceed standards, Breathing Air Dryers provide certified breathing air, even in situations with polluted intake air to ensure personnel safety at all times.
Ash Air has been around in New Zealand since 1979, and weโve grown into a nationwide company with international support and a
reputation for quality and reliability.We look after all things compressed air for your business!
Ash Air's range of Chicago Pneumatic, Alup, Pneumatech, and Quincy compressors are used extensively around the world in industries
ranging from oil and gas to food, automotive and farming, and we bring you these world class compressors here in the land of the long white
cloud.Our technicians are compressed air equipment experts and are dedicated to addressing customer needs. Supported by a 13 locations
nationwide, Ash Air offers one of the widest selections of compressed air equipment and parts available today in New Zealand.
With Ash Air compressors, you can count on reliability and high performance for even the most demanding applications. We focus our
efforts on the following:
Talk to the team today:
Maintenance budget: 8 factors to consider
Just like any other equipment, a compressed air installation also requires the necessary maintenance work during its entire
lifespan. Even though maintenance costs are only about 5 to 10% of a machine's annual operating costs, failure to budget for
maintenance can have potentially disastrous consequences.
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The air dyer is one of the most ignored cooler in the system. A dirty condenser will cause water in the lines, or worse it will cause
complete dryer failure.
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Why Replace CO2 with Nitrogen in your Brewery
Using nitrogen is not about fully replacing CO2, but it can reduce their consumption of CO2 by close to 70%. Using nitrogen is about
sustainability. Creating your own nitrogen is easy and will reduce the use of a greenhouse gas, which is better for the environment. It will
also save you money as early as month one adding that savings to your bottom line.
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What do I need to know about ICONS?
ICONS: Intelligent Connectivity System: The insight into your compressed air system, wherever you are. Learn More about ICONS in this article here!
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A question that is occasionally asked by our customers to Ash Air is 'what is the cost of compressed air?'ย This article looks at the
product costs involved with compressed air, as well as minimising the energy cost of compressors and cost allocation. When looking at these
factors, we need to realise what causes dropped efficiency of your compressor, leading to increased costs of compressed air.
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